Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
  • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
  • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
  • H01Q1/24—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q9/00—Electrically-short antennas having dimensions not more than twice the operating wavelength and consisting of conductive active radiating elements
  • H01Q9/04—Resonant antennas
  • H01Q9/0407—Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
  • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
  • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
  • H01Q1/24—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set
  • H01Q1/241—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM
  • H01Q1/242—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM specially adapted for hand-held use
  • H01Q1/243—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM specially adapted for hand-held use with built-in antennas
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q9/00—Electrically-short antennas having dimensions not more than twice the operating wavelength and consisting of conductive active radiating elements
  • H01Q9/04—Resonant antennas
  • H01Q9/0407—Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna
  • H01Q9/0421—Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna with a shorting wall or a shorting pin at one end of the element

Definitions

• This invention concerns an antenna device according to the preamble of claim 1. It also concerns a piece of telecommunication equipment including such a device.
• Efforts have been made to overcome the above disadvantages by placing e.g. a patch antenna inside the mobile phone cover.
• the antenna terminals have been provided with a telescopic structure including a biasing spring so as to obtain contact pressure against a contact associated with the circuitry of the mobile phone, possibly being located on the PCB of the phone.
• Such connectors are referred to as "pogo pins" (Trademark) .
• This solution is, however, also costly, since it presupposes the provision of relatively movable parts. It is also difficult to produce in a minimised format. Moreover, this solution may not provide ideal performance for transferring RF signals.
• a patch antenna is constituted by a metal plate which provides metal plate tongues extending at a right angle from the patch. Each tongue is however bent so as to provide an outer contact part which with its straight end may be applied with a certain spring action against a contact element.
• the main problems with this solution are: uncontrolled resistance, poor RF performance due to undefined contact position and undefined electrical length of the elements connecting the antenna element.
• the construction of the connecting means makes it possible to obtain spatially precise, low resistance contact even on miniaturised contact pads associated with the circuitry, since it is possible to guide the pins with great accuracy. Varying tolerances with respect to several of the associated parts are more tolerable since the construction with rigid pins, which however must be produced to an accurately defined length, and with well defined contact points, provide for accurate RF performance even if certain variations exist, resulting in a reduced number of rejects in production. Further, the number of elements comprising the antenna device is reduced and the simple method of assembly results in an economic solution.
• the pin thus is rigid and only flexes as a result of the flexing of the resilient portion.
• the free end of the pin provides a defined point which preferably is slightly rounded, within reasonable ranges the exact geometry here is of minor importance.
• a pin having a defined point and being biased by the resiliency of the resilient portion results in good contact conditions. Compare however with the prior art mentioned above where the free end of the tongue is a straight edge resulting in an undefined contact point with uncontrolled or high contact resistance.
• the pin element or elements are directly fastened to a metal sheet making up the antenna or antennas.
• This dual function of the metal sheet simplifies production and reduces assembly costs by the reduction of the number of elements involved.
• Another advantage is the provision of the antenna function with minimal space demands.
• Riveting the pin elements to the resilient portion guarantees good electric contact and efficient fastening. Normally there is no need for subsequent surface treatment if a pin is riveted to the resilient portion since the pin may be optimised with respect to material, surface treatment etc. Riveting may be performed by a reduced sized end portion of each pin being closed up as the rivet to said portion. Minimal contact resistance is also provided at this position, which is very important with respect to such antennas.
• the pin may be integral with the resilient portion which here means that the pin is made in one piece therewith without any connecting means such as rivets or solder.
• This solution is however not an optimal solution since it presupposes an expensive set of tools and specific manufacture in order to adapt to different applications.
• at least partial surface treatment of the pin is in practice necessary to achieve an acceptable electrical contact to e.g. a contact pad.
• the pin elements are provided on resilient tongues which are parts of the same element as the antenna element or antenna elements. This makes it simple to control the resiliency so as to obtain the desired pressure and the desired travel length for the pins. The pressure is easily determined by dimensioning the tongues and choosing a material having the proper elasticity or resilience.
• the tongues are made from a metal plate also comprising the antenna element (-s)
• the choice of plate thickness may be according to desired resiliency. Plate thickness is of less importance with respect to antenna function, but in regions where currents flow in the antenna element it is important to have material with good conductivity.
• the device is also excellent for dual or multi-band antennas, in particular, by the two antennas working in different bands being made from a common plate metal structure, for example by punching or cutting, simple manufacture is obtained.
• the device may be used in minimised phones.
• the device includes a supporting body including guide means for the pin elements.
• a supporting body may be a single piece of plastic material including guide channels for the pin elements.
• the provision of such a supporting body allows enhanced function since the guide means may be designed to accurately guide the pin elements onto even a minimised contact pad, still allowing the desired flexing movement. By making the channels tapering, the mounting is simplified.
• the support structure for the antenna device may also be provided in the body of the mobile phone itself, thus providing yet more simplified manufacture and assembly and enhanced economy.
• Fig. 1 shows, in a cut, an antenna device in an operative position inside a mobile phone
• Fig. 2 shows an antenna device according to a second embodiment
• Fig. 3 shows an antenna device according to a third embodiment
• Fig. 4 shows an antenna device according to a fourth embodiment
• Fig. 5 shows an antenna device according to a fifth embodiment
• Fig. 6 shows an antenna device according to a sixth embodiment
• Fig. 7 shows a first alternative pin configuration
• Fig. 8 shows a second alternative pin configuration
• Fig. 9 shows an antenna device according to a seventh embodiment in a partial view
• Fig. 10 shows an antenna device according to an eighth embodiment in a partial view
• Fig, 11 shows an antenna device according to a ninth embodiment in a partial view
• Fig. 12a and b show details of an antenna device according to a tenth embodiment
• Fig. 13 shows diagrammatically a section of an antenna device according to an eleventh embodiment
• Fig. 14 shows an antenna device according to a twelfth embodiment in a partial view
• Fig. 15a and b show details of an antenna device according to a thirteenth embodiment.
• the antenna device 1 in Fig. 1 includes an antenna element 2 which is positioned inside orienting rims of a supporting body 3.
• the supporting body is adapted on the one hand for support and positioning of the antenna element and pin elements 5 (see below) and on the other hand to provide fixing onto a body portion (not shown) of the mobile phone.
• the supporting body 3 and said body portion are provided with mating positioning means of a per see known kind (not shown) .
• the antenna element 2 is in this case made from a metal plate and is integral with resilient tongues 4, each providing spring action and each at its free end carrying a pin element 5.
• Each pin 5 is fastened onto a hole (not shown) at the outer part of each tongue (at 6) .
• Each pin element also has a pointed or rounded free end 7, and upon mounting of the antenna device into the body of the mobile phone each pin 5 will contact a contact pad 8, which is associated with the circuitry of the mobile phone.
• the supporting body 3 includes guide means 10 for the pin elements 5 so as to ensure that the pin elements 5 are securely contacting also a very small contact pad 8.
• a circuit board is indicated with 9.
• the guide means 10 comprise guide channels 11, which in this case are tapering against the lower ends in order to facilitate placing the antenna element on the support body 3.
• the tapering configuration thus simplifies insertions of the straight pin elements and reduces frictions since contact is obtained essentially only at the bottom portion of each channel.
• the tapering configuration also allows a certain movement sideways of the upper part of the pin element when the pin elements 5 flex due to the resiliency of the tongues.
• This configuration also provide for a small but important movement sideways of the pointed ends 7 at the contact pads 8, ensuring certain relative movement between these elements so as to enhance the electrical contact.
• the antenna device includes an single band antenna 2 having L-shaped antenna element and straight extending resilient tongues 4, each carrying pin elements, one of which 5' being for signal feed 5' and the other one for grounding connection 5". Also in Fig. 1 one of the pin elements is a signal feed pin whereas the other one is a grounding pin.
• the antenna device is provided with two antenna elements 2' and 2" whereby a dual band antenna is formed.
• the device provides for fastening of the pin elements on a resilient portion 13 being integral with the antenna element.
• the properties of the portion 13 with respect to elasticity etc. is chosen such that the tongues may be omitted.
• the pin elements are arranged on a carrier plate 14, which in turn carries an antenna element (not shown) inside cover 15.
• the element may be a helix antenna or any other suitable antenna.
• the resilient portion such as a resilient tongue, may be provided extending from a metal plate which in turn carries an antenna element of the helix type or any other type. It is possible to shape the antenna elements differently and also to provide circuitry such as a matching circuit, for example in the neighbourhood of the tongue or tongues. It is also possible to design the tongues and to use the length of the pin element to match the antenna function in a simple way.
• the pin elements for impedance matching purposes, for example, by having a cross section deviating from a circle or having different cross section on the pin elements and also by selecting the pin length. See for example fig 8, where pins 5 are shown having X shaped cross section. It is also possible to impedance match by selecting the distance between neighbouring pins and/or tongues .
• signals than RF signals may be coupled over the pins, for instance signals to a loudspeaker, which may be mounted on the antenna element.
• More than two pins may be attached to antenna elements at arbitrary positions, for example in order to obtain optimised signal transfer for different RF bands by feeding over different pins for different bands.
• Riveting or similar fastening at the connection point between the pin element and the tongue is preferred since direct metallic contact is guaranteed. No soldering is required.
• the pin elements are easily manufactured and may for example be made so as to give optimal contact and low contact resistance and/or conductivity. They may e.g. be gold or nickel palladium alloy plated whereas the antenna element may be of copper or a copper alloy without surface treatment.
• the antenna device according to the invention is particularly advantageous for use with internal antennas, that is antennas provided inside the cover of a mobile phone. Since such antennas are sensitive to how they are placed inside the cover and to inferior contact, the invention provides a safe solution to problems encountered with such internal antennas.
• the invention allows flexibility with possibility to adopt to a modular system easily allowing desired variations, with respect to manufacture and (ease of) assembly.
• the antenna device according to the invention may thus be easily mounted into the phone during assembly, by simply placing it onto the phone body.
• the pressing action may for example be provided by a phone cover portion exerting a holding force onto chosen parts of the device, while leaving the resilient portion free for flexing.
• the signal feed to and from the antenna element may e.g. be provided by capacitive coupling.
• the pin element may be integral with the structure providing the resilient portion, see figure 7.
• the pin 5 may be manufactured as a bent metal plate portion extending from the resilient portion 4 and for instance a part making up the antenna element or the carrier structure.
• this solution suffers from some important drawbacks .
• FIG 9 an embodiment is shown, wherein the pin 5 is fastened to a spiral-shaped resilient portion 34 of the antenna element 12.
• the resilient portion is formed "inside" the antenna element so that it together with the pin is surrounded by the antenna element.
• a resilient portion located such may have other shapes, such as linear, (see fig 8), or curved, but the spiral shape gives advantages with respect to extended spring length in a reduced area.
• This way of arranging the resilient portion may also lead to enhanced antenna properties, since it allows more efficient use of the radiator area, and more freedom also in antenna design per se. It also allows contacting on a more central point of the antenna element which may bring about advantages with respect to radiation propagation. Further, more freedom in respect of impedance matching is allowed.
• a resilient portion placed such may be separated from portions of the sheet making up the antenna element by any suitable known method, for example by stamping, laser cutting or etching.
• the antenna device may be mounted inside a mobile phone in various ways. In order to reduce time for assembly and to provide for simple mounting arrangements it is preferred to provide for a reduced number of components to be assembled and to provide for rational assembly methods.
• the antenna element 22 in fig 10 is provided with holes (not shown) at 33 for receiving studs protruding from a base 35 which may be the outer plastic cover of the mobile phone (diagrammatically indicated as a box in this figure) . It may however also be a separate holding element or support body made of a synthetic material. Each stud is at the assembly process deformed by heating (e.g. by ultra sound) or the like so that fastening caps 16 are formed for retaining the antenna element firmly onto the base 35.
• FIG 11 shows an embodiment where studs 17 protruding from a base 35 are extending through holes 33 in an antenna element 22. These studs 17 are still to be deformed into holding caps (16 in fig 10) .
• an antenna device may also be fastened by an antenna element 22 being slide mounted into a slot 18 (one of two opposing slots is shown) in a base 35 which similarly may be an outer cover or a separate holder.
• a base 35 which similarly may be an outer cover or a separate holder.
• pin 5 associated with the antenna element 22 it may be satisfactory, according to fig 12b, to allow pin 5 associated with the antenna element 22 to slide into a guide slot 21 in a guide body 20 in a direction according to arrow 19 being perpendicular to the general extension of the pin 5. This means that the pin is supported in almost all directions (all but one single direction, counter to arrow 19) during the flexing which is satisfactory in most applications.
• Fig 13 shows a further embodiment where the antenna device and in particular the radiating antenna element 2 is firmly mounted in a mobile phone by the application of adhesive tapes.
• 23 denotes a lid which may or may not be a part of the outer cover of the mobile phone.
• the antenna element 2 is fastened to the lid over a double adhesive tape 24.
• the lid 23 is in turn fastened to the remaining parts of the phone in a direction taking into account the flexing properties of the parts 4 and 5.
• Such an arrangement may provide sufficient fastening for many applications.
• fastening studs 17 distributed over the area of the lid. These studs 17 may be deformed with heat to form caps (see fig 10) for co-operation with support body 26.
• Fig 14 shows positioning of an antenna element 22 inside a support body 29 by providing mating snap-lock fastening elements 27, 28 on a lid 30 and on the body 29 respectively.
• the elements 27, 28 may be chosen from a plurality of such elements of per se known kind and they may extend continuously over the rim of the meeting parts or be discrete separated elements .
• Fig 15a shows an antenna element 22 being fastened in a support body 29 which may or may not make up a portion of an outer cover of a phone. Studs 17 extend through holes 33, said studs providing fastening of an antenna element 22 by that element 22 having holes 33 being formed with engaging means 28 which fixes the metallic antenna element onto the studs when the antenna element 22 is pressed to position.
• Such fastening holes are often referred to as "star-lock" elements which are per se known in the art of fasteners.
• the pin is preferably connected to the resilient portion essentially perpendicular thereto when that portion is formed from a metal sheet.
• the shown embodiments allow freedom to dimension these portions such that the spring force afforded to the pins may be chosen to match the specific application.
• the free end of the pin is point shaped or rounded, as is discussed above, so as to provide a small contact surface and safe connection.
• the antenna elements may be designed so as to be adapted to the shape of the phone cover so as to minimise the space used.
• the antenna elements may be formed with curved configuration.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Support Of Aerials (AREA)
• Telephone Set Structure (AREA)
• Details Of Aerials (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=26663586

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (9)

Citations (2)

Family Cites Families (1)

• 1999
  • 1999-08-19 SE SE9902949A patent/SE9902949D0/xx unknown
• 2000
  • 2000-05-19 WO PCT/SE2000/001018 patent/WO2000074171A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2000-05-19 EP EP00937432A patent/EP1198862A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-05-19 AU AU52606/00A patent/AU5260600A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-05-19 CN CNB00808274XA patent/CN1185759C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-05-19 KR KR1020017014734A patent/KR100788943B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2000-05-19 BR BR0011070-1A patent/BR0011070A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (2)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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